Kirill Marchenko told the Columbus media on Friday that his contract isn't his department, and the Blue Jackets have to live with that answer.
I play hockey, he said. I can talk only about hockey. It's not my side, the business side.
He handed it to Don Waddell and his agent Dan Milstein. My goal is to be ready on the ice, he added.
That's a man who has already decided something. Players who plan on staying usually just say so.
He's been Columbus's top goal producer for three straight seasons running.
That works out to 81 goals and 171 points across 233 games since 2023-24, all of it on $3.85 million a year.
One year left on the three-year deal he signed in June 2024. After that he becomes a restricted free agent.
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Kirill Marchenko refuses to discuss Columbus future as Blue Jackets drama grows
Fantilli remains unsigned and hasn't shown up at all. That's the second file burning a hole in Waddell's desk.
Adam Proteau wrote Sunday that Columbus should cut its losses and move the winger. Difficult to call that unreasonable.
Marchenko is also arbitration-eligible. He can take a one-year award and walk himself straight into unrestricted free agency.
There's the leverage nobody mentions. Control on paper stops being control the moment a player has a calendar.
Kevin Weekes was the one who put the no-extension news out there, and Proteau reported it caught Waddell off guard.
Zach Werenski was nearly shipped to Dallas this summer. Columbus barely added a soul.
Proteau's bigger point lands hard. Lose this guy and the next good player wonders why he'd ever sign there.
Rick Bowness took the bench job in January and now opens a season with every one of these files still open.
Detroit visits Columbus on Monday night. The questions arrive with the media, not the opponent.
Waddell has been in that chair since May 2024. Nothing about this autumn is making that seat feel any warmer.
So what's a non-committal star actually worth? Holding a player who has stopped selling your city works like keeping a tenant who already gave notice. You get the rent and nothing else.
Columbus can still trade him for something real. Every week they wait, the phone gets a little quieter on the other end.
Should Don Waddell trade Kirill Marchenko before the season opens?
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